This paper assesses the suitability of 8-band Worldview-2 (WV2) satellite data and object-based random forest algorithm for the classification of avocado growth stages in Mexico. We tested both pixel-based with minimum distance (MD) and maximum likelihood (MLC) and object-based with Random Forest (RF) algorithm for this task. Training samples and verification data were selected by visual interpreting the WV2 images for seven thematic classes: fully grown, middle stage, and early stage of avocado crops, bare land, two types of natural forests, and water body. To examine the contribution of the four new spectral bands of WV2 sensor, all the tested classifications were carried out with and without the four new spectral bands. Classification accuracy assessment results show that object-based classification with RF algorithm obtained higher overall higher accuracy (93.06%) than pixel-based MD (69.37%) and MLC (64.03%) method. For both pixel-based and object-based methods, the classifications with the four new spectral bands (overall accuracy obtained higher accuracy than those without: overall accuracy of object-based RF classification with vs without: 93.06% vs 83.59%, pixel-based MD: 69.37% vs 67.2%, pixel-based MLC: 64.03% vs 36.05%, suggesting that the four new spectral bands in WV2 sensor contributed to the increase of the classification accuracy.

Date Published: 18 November 2014
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9263, Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Remote Sensing Technology, Techniques and Applications V, 92630P (18 November 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2068966

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9263:
Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Remote Sensing Technology, Techniques and Applications V
Allen M. Larar; Makoto Suzuki; Jianyu Wang, Editor(s)